Arsenal have become increasingly threatening from set-pieces in recent seasons, with Mikel Arteta focusing on this aspect of the game to give his side a significant advantage.
The Gunners will need to be as astute as they usually are from dead-ball situations when they take on Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United on Wednesday evening.
A resounding victory over West Ham United at the London Stadium on Saturday saw Arteta’s team maintain their nine point gap with league leaders Liverpool.
The clash with United grants them an opportunity to reduce this points deficit, with the Merseyside outfit facing a difficult trip to the north-east to face Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.
Arteta has issued an injury update ahead of the game at the Emirates, with Gabriel Magalhaes likely to be fit, a significant boost in regard to aiding Arsenal’s attempts to open up what is a likely to be a tight game with a set-piece goal.
Mikel Arteta’s comments on Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover
Since Gabriel arrived in North London, the Brazilian has found the back of the net more times than any other defender in Europe’s top five leagues.
He owes a lot of this to Arsenal’s set-piece coach, Nicolas Jover, who left Manchester City for the Gunners in 2021.
Jover has made a remarkable impact on Arteta’s team’s effectiveness from corners and free-kicks.
Enacting complex routines, such as the secret weapon Jurrien Timber revealed he used to help Gabriel score against West Ham, Arsenal have become the dead ball masters in the Premier League.
Speaking at his Arsenal press conference, Arteta was asked about Jover as a personality, and how he pried the specialist away from the Etihad.
The Spaniard replied: “He’s [Jover] a very special person and obviously someone very close to me.
“I went to war for him at City because I felt there was a big room for improvement in that department.
“I contacted him and I suggested to Pep (for him) to come and help us. Since then we’ve been extremely close.
“We share a clear vision of how we want to put everything together, about how everything is connected, aligned and can work efficiently in our team.
“There are a lot of other people who put a lot of effort and thought and hours into that, but for sure he is someone who is very, very important for the team.”
Set-pieces are integral to Arsenal’s game
While Arsenal are certainly effective from open play, the extent of the team’s brilliance from deal ball scenarios makes them a pivotal facet to Arteta’s side.
Helping to break the deadlock in numerous matches, the weapon forces teams to ditch their low blocks, creating space for Arsenal to exploit.
Becoming an elite set-piece team is often sneered at and viewed as an aspect of the game lesser sides focus on, but Arteta and Jover have used them to create a significant advantage for his side.
Scoring from dead balls against Tottenham, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool already this season, they’re also a deadly way of attacking big sides.
Arteta praised William Saliba and Gabriel’s defensive chemistry on Tuesday afternoon, but the centre-backs’ presence in the opposition box is as important.
United’s back-line has struggled defending corners this season, and thus this could prove to be the difference on Wednesday night.
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